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My Blog and I

My name is Diana. I am the blogger behind Offbeat Vagabond. I just
wanted something to help me rant on about things I love or don't quite
love. I am big on books, especially Urban
Fantasy, it is my favorite genre. Any Romance has to be Paranormal,
because love isn't natural without a gun and a beast involved. Although my tastes are very much expanding, I have discovered a love for Contemporary even BDSM (shocking!) I love
movies. Sci-fi/Fantasy/Horror/Action, pretty much anything as long as no
Romantic Comedies are involved (Katherine Heigl, you have been warned).
Music, TV, Wrestling are all my things as well (although I haven't been watching Wrestling as much as I used to). I am doing this for fun. I want to
write on a professional front, so blogging is a good stepping stone for
me. I just hope that stone doesn't have moss and I slip and break
something. So join me in my little piece of the Internet and remember,
it is normal to be abnormal

Evan
broke Cassie’s heart two months ago, and she still doesn’t know why.
She throws herself into family, friends and her new job at the sheriff’s
department, but nothing helps. The only thing that finally allows her
heal and move on is the love of a new man, mind mage Matthew Blair.
Cassie finds him... irresistible

Matthew may also be the only one
who can help keep the nonmagical residents of Eagle Rock from going
crazy over the murder of a beloved pastor’s wife. It looks like a
sorcerer is to blame, but while Cassie tries to figure out who, others
take matters into their own hands. With tensions running so hot, a
single spark might set Eagle Rock ablaze.

*********************************************

I am so in love with this series. It gets better and better with each book and this was no exception. Cassie is as brave and stubborn as ever. She has learned more than her fair share in the last book. Now she is surrounded by people that either want to use her or kill her. There is a pastor preaching a hate message about those with magic in the town and things are getting even more tense than usual. Worse yet, someone has killed the pastor's wife which has put fuel on the fire (no pun intended). Cassie now is in a world of trouble trying to crackdown on who it is and making sure the ones closest to her don't take the fall. This book is going to be very hard not to spoil. So much goes on throughout the series and it is continuing to build like crazy. Cassie has made some discoveries about her past in the last book and is working on trying to cope with it. Cassie is also trying to cope with leaving behind Evan. Evan has left her because of her father who still hates him and his family. Evan knows something he can't tell Cassie and is trying to protect, but it is very hard. But Cassie is trying to move on and so she is now dating someone else named Matthew. Matthew is the state senator and he also has a knack to read everyone's mind. I wasn't sure if I liked him or not. After everything Evan and Cassie have discovered about what happens to women with a trace of magic, I was suspicious. As you can imagine, so was Evan. His jealousy is instant. I couldn't blame him. I am an Evan fan, so I felt his pain. Cassie doesn't know what his deal is, but Evan can't possibly let her know what he knows. I loved all the action and the tension Amsden added in this book. The magical community versus the religious community was incredibly intense. Cassie is investigating the death of David from the last book. His death is quite a mystery and no one is absolutely sure about how he died and no one cares to find out given what the man did. Her investigation leads her to a church she wished she didn't have to visit again. The pastor, Pastor Roberts, does nothing but preach hate about the magic users (or witches) in their town and it starts to make people very crazy. While during this speech, the pastor's house blows up with his wife inside. Cassie needs to get to the bottom of it and has a feeling there is a connection somewhere, but she has to find it. Sadly though, it seems there are some politics at play. The pastor along with Cassie's father and Matthew and his father are all working on how to find the culprit, but in their own way. I love that with everything going on, Cassie keeps her wits about her. She is such a resilient character. She always has her head on straight, well, fore the most part. There are times in the book when her brain is on the verge of an idea or a thought and she can't figure it out, she can never complete it. It is like something is blocking her mind. This is a great series. It is perfect for both supernatural and mystery lovers alike. I have said it before and I will say it again, Amsden ability to mix both of the worlds is just brilliant. Her characters are easy to love especially Cassie. Cassie has got to be one of my favorite female leads in a book. I love how she thinks things through and sees everything from all angles. She is cool, calm, and collected. Despite the hand that life has dealt her, she bounces back like a champ. She is awesome, plain and simple. The relationship between her and Evan is worth cheering for, It seems like they can never catch a break, but you know it has to be coming. This book kept me on edge. This is one of those books you pick up and read for an afternoon and don't put down until you are done. If you haven't started this series, you don't know what you are missing. Get a move on people!

About Christine Amsden

Christine Amsden has been
writing science fiction and fantasy for as long as she can remember.
She loves to write and it is her dream that others will be inspired by
this love and by her stories. Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and
imaginative but great speculative fiction is about real people defining
themselves through extraordinary situations. Christine writes primarily
about people and it is in this way that she strives to make science
fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.
At the age of 16, Christine was diagnosed with Stargardt's Disease, a
condition that effects the retina and causes a loss of central vision.
She is now legally blind, but has not let this slow her down or get in
the way of her dreams. (You can learn more here.)

In addition to writing, Christine teaches workshops on writing at Savvy Authors.
She also does some freelance editing work.

Christine currently lives in the Kansas City area with her husband,
Austin, who has been her biggest fan and the key to her success. They
have two beautiful children.

Welcome to Club Babylon: where the A-list VIPs come to playScoring
a gig at Miami’s Club Babylon is a fantasy come true for New York
promoter Thandie Shaw. The hottest club on the strip is a magnet for
major South Beach movers and shakers. And Thandie’s about to meet the
biggest player of them all.

Babylon owner Elliot Richards is
macho, arrogant, sexist—everything Thandie doesn’t want in a boss or
lover. Elliot is also the most erotic man who’s ever wanted to take her
to bed. But Thandie’s no fool. Even as he tries to seduce her into a
world of intense and shocking passion, she knows it’s too good to
last…especially after she uncovers Elliot’s explosive secrets.

Thandie’s
going down a dangerous road, and she’s risking a lot more than her
career. Torn between doubt and desire, will she have to pay the ultimate
price?

Darkly sensual and deeply moving, Beyond the Velvet Rope
takes you into a world of uncontrollable desire and unexpected
consequences.

Gutsy,
green-eyed Eleanor never met a rule she didn't want to break. She's
sick of her mother's zealotry and the confines of Catholic school, and
declares she'll never go to church again. But her first glimpse of
beautiful, magnetic Father Søren Stearns and his lust-worthy Italian
motorcycle is an epiphany. Suddenly, daily Mass seems like a reward, and
her punishment is the ache she feels when they're apart. He is
intelligent and insightful and he seems to know her intimately at her
very core. Eleanor is consumed—and even she knows that can't be right.

But
when one desperate mistake nearly costs Eleanor everything, it is Søren
who steps in to save her. She vows to repay him with complete
obedience…and a whole world opens before her as he reveals to her his
deepest secrets.

Hi. This is Tiffany Ashley.
Writing romance novels is my passion. My niche genre is interracial
erotica. My first published novel, Love Script, was released in 2007 and
received rave reviews. An extended version of that novel, LOVE SCRIPT:
DELUXE EDITION, releases on February 1st, 2011.

I love writing
and I’m very passionate about my craft. Even if I didn’t make a dime off
my books (thankfully, I do :) I would still write. Writing for me is
therapeutic, spiritual, exciting and organic. At times, it can often be
frustrating, stressful, sad and painful. However, nothing worth doing
well is easy. And if you love what you do, the pain is worth it.

I’m
very meticulous about my work. I obsess over the smallest detail, the
slightest phrases, and every punctuation. And after months of working on
a manuscript, conversing with my editor, and reviewing notes from my
proofreader; I always find something I’m not satisfied with in the final
print. I’m sure that qualifies as some sort of obsessive compulsive
disorder.

A little secret of mine is ... I fall in love with all the male characters from my books. Who wouldn’t? These guys are hot!!!

Now that you know a little about me, please drop me a line. Got questions? I want to hear them. I'm all ears!

Tiffany Reisz lives in
Lexington, Kentucky with her boyfriend (a reformed book reviewer) and
two cats (one good, one evil). She graduated with a B.A. in English from
Centre College in Danville, Kentucky and is making both her parents and
her professors proud by writing BDSM erotica under her real name.

When
not under arrest, Tiffany enjoys Latin Dance, Latin Men, and Latin
Verbs. She dropped out of a conservative southern seminary in order to
pursue her dream of becoming a smut peddler. Johnny Depp’s aunt was her
fourth grade teacher. Her first full-length novel THE SIREN was inspired
by a desire to tie up actor Jason Isaacs (on paper). She hopes someday
life will imitate art (in bed).

THE SIREN was awarded the RT Reviewer's Choice Award for Best Erotic Romance 2012.

A deadly curse, a deadly assassin, and one shot to save everyone she loves…

Malachi
Erami can’t fall in love. After she’s caught with Knave, the witch
Queen’s favorite lover, she’s cursed to savagely butcher any man she
falls for. Exiled to live among humans, Malachi runs a bar that serves
magic-laced drinks, but since her curse labels her high risk, she’s also
closely monitored. Julian Vira is her latest babysitter, but he’s also
the first man since Knave that she’s been attracted to. Good-looking and
nonjudgmental of her horrible curse? Yeah, he’s hard to resist.

But
when Malachi finds a body behind her bar, she knows she’s in trouble.
If the Witches Control Council gets wind of it, she’ll be accused of
murder and sent to her death. And when her friends start getting framed
for murder, she realizes she’s not the only target. Malachi and Julian
dig into the evidence to clear her name, but the closer they get to
answers, the closer the curse comes to taking over. So when Malachi
uncovers a plot to kill the witch Queen, she finds herself suddenly
recruited into service, with the promise of having her curse lifted and a
reunion with Knave as well. But if she fails, Knave will die. And she
and Julian might not live long enough to see that happen.

*********************************************

Black Widow Witch is a story that follows a witch named Malachi. Malachi is stuck in the human world because she has been cursed. Witches are treated like lepers in the human world and Malachi is treated worse than most due to her curse. But given that her specialty is in mixing drinks, she has a bit of an upper hand. Things are going as usual until Malachi finds a body behind her body. If that wasn't bad enough, the body just happens to look like how it would if her curse kicked in. She thought she was able to take care of it until her best friend is accused of murder. Now Malachi is beginning to think that it is no coincidence and she needs to get to the bottom of it.

I had a lot of fun with this book. Locke's storytelling is just impeccable. I really get lost in the worlds she builds and this is no exception. Malachi was a great and complex lead character. Her curse makes her turn into an actual maneater. The queen of their world is evil and insane. Malachi made the mistake of falling for one of Queen Solenne's many lovers, her favorite lover. Now anytime she finds that she is attracted to a man, she turns into a monster and will actually eat them. Malachi keeps most people at an arm's length because of it. But she did have friends that I enjoyed. Her other best friend, Xiune, cracked me up. She is nothing but a head. She was cursed and sent to the human world too. She doesn't let that stop her though. She gets busy... a lot. It was actually quite funny. I love that despite her situation, she still knows how to have a good time.

I also really loved Julian. Julian is an officer sent to shadow Malachi. The human world has their own witch control, the WCC. They keep tabs on all the witches and not much else. Anything happens they are the ones they put the blame on them without caring whether they are innocent or not. Julian, however, didn't see witches the way the rest of the WCC did. Julian treated Malachi like an equal. He didn't see her as a monster and he wasn't disgusted by her. I really loved how well they connected. It was nice seeing Malachi open up because it is obvious she never lets it happen. I did have a bit of an issue on how Julian wasn't at least apprehensive about being with Malachi. I loved that he accepted her, but he knows what her curse entails. It just never seemed to faze him. It would have been nice to see if he at least thought about it. I really loved the way the story progressed. Mysterious and action packed. I loved the conflict between humans and the witches. It sort of reminded me of the beginning of the Sookie Stackhouse series. It created a lot of buildup in this book because you can see that someone is going around framing witches, but you have no idea who. It could easily be the queen who could be screwing with the witches she exiled or one of the many witch haters. I really liked uncovering this mystery. I would hate to spoil this, so I won't. This was a great read. There were laughs and a lot of magic. I am a huge fan of Locke's style. I really enjoyed the flashbacks in this book as well. It really gave us a look into Malachi's past with the terrible queen. I really liked the characters. I hope we see more of the in the next book. I don't see a name for this series, but I know there has to be one especially because of the ending. You know there is much more to the story for sure and I can't wait to find out what it is. This is a great introduction into this new world Locke has given us and I am looking forward to visiting it again.

I am a writer of Urban
Fantasy, as well as an avid reader. I love reading both YA and adult
novels, and also enjoy post modern Japanese fiction. I'm also an artist,
and enjoy drawing, painting, and graphic design. Affairs of the Dead is
my debut novel and is available now from Etopia Press.

Catherine has taken a
chance on love. Another warlock has turned up in her life. Can she
handle her new Aussie warlock, Jeff? Or is there something better around
the corner? Confused between her husband cheating and a new flavor of
warlock, Catherine runs out to find other options in the town famous for
luck, Las Vegas. She runs straight into an exotic dancer named Liam.
Irish, gorgeous, and James Bond flavored, he might be the answer to her
no warlock plan. But Liam might be the forbidden fruit that could lead
Catherine down a dangerous path. Will she run back to Jeff before it’s
too late? Or will she lose something more than just her heart?

*********************************************

About Marilyn Vix

Marilyn Vix is a Romance
novelist working on different romance novel projects. Having had
experience with another genre, Marilyn is trying her hand at her secret
passion, romance writing. It is a grand experiment, armed with editor
and laptop, that will progress over the next few months. Dappling in
Time Travel and Paranormal Romances, Marilyn is going to see where her
passion takes her. Hopefully the Top Bestsellers lists.

In the small
town of River Black, Texas, sits the Triple C—a working cattle ranch
that sustains the town. But it also holds painful memories and shocking
secrets for the Cavanaugh brothers...

When the Cavanaugh
brothers return home for their father’s funeral, they discover
unexpected evidence of the old man’s surprising double life—a son named
Blue, who wants the Triple C Ranch as much as they do. The eldest son,
Deacon, a wealthy businessman who couldn’t wait to leave the ranch and
move on with his life, is looking to use his powerful connections to
stop Blue at any cost. He never expected the ranch’s forewoman,
Mackenzie Byrd, to get in his way.

Mac knows Deacon means to
destroy the ranch and therefore destroy her livelihood. But as the two
battle for control, their attraction builds. Now Deacon is faced with
the choice of a lifetime: Take down the Triple C to feed his need for
revenge, or embrace the love of the one person who has broken down every
barrier to his heart.

The Cavanaugh
brothers left behind River Black, Texas, long ago. But after their
father dies, bequeathing them the Triple C, a cattle ranch that sustains
their small town, they return—and confront the painful memories of
their childhood home and the truth about their sister’s murder…

For
years, James Cavanaugh has traveled the world as a horse whisperer, but
even the millions he’s earned hasn’t healed the pain he hides behind
his stoic exterior. Forced to tackle old demons at the ranch, James
throws himself into work to avoid his true feelings. Until he meets a
woman who shakes the foundations of his well-built walls…

Sheridan
O’Neil’s quiet confidence has served her well, except when it comes to
romance. Tired of rejection, she’s ready to swear off men. But after
being rescued from a horse stampede by the most beautiful cowboy she’s
ever met, her resolve wavers. Only, as Sheridan uncovers James’s belief
that no woman is safe with him, she wonders if such a wounded man could
ever give in to love, or if some hearts are too broken to be healed…

Two
hours later, hot and sweaty, his stomach barely appeased by the two
sandwiches he’d already eaten, Deacon sat beside Mackenzie under
the shade of a birch tree and watched her eat her first sandwich. Her
hat was resting on the grass, and the breeze off the lake a few feet
away was sending dark strands of her hair flying about her beautiful,
dirt-smudged face.

Hell,
a body could get used to this. Working hard alongside such a woman,
his muscles being fed by hours in the saddle and under the sun
instead of in the sterile private gyms in his office building and
penthouse.

The
thoughts moved uninvited through his mind, and he turned to the
picnic, which was set up on a blue and white striped cloth on the
grass, and grabbed a third sandwich, along with a handful of chips
and a bunch of grapes.

“You
sure worked up an appetite, cowboy,” Mac said, eyeing his plate.

“Thank
God you had the good sense to pack enough for--”

“An
army?” she finished good-naturedly. She grinned and crunched a
slice of pickle.

Deacon
laughed. “I was going to say a country boy.”

She
cocked her head, pretended to study him. “Not sure you can call
yourself that anymore.”

“I
told you--”

“I
know what you told me, but I think you been out of the game too
long.” She shrugged, then popped the rest of the pickle in her
mouth.

“There’s
a statute of limitations on calling yourself country?”

She
nodded. “Yes. It’s ten years.”

The
flash of amusement in her blue eyes made his heart flip over like a
damn fish on the bank. Out of its element and unable to breath. “That
written down somewhere or did you just make it up on the spot?”

“Oh,
it’s common knowledge,” she said, taking her half of a brownie
she’d cut in two earlier.

He
watched her eat it, watched the moist chocolate slip between her
teeth. “So, if I go back to the house and ask Sam about this, you
think he’ll back you up?”

“Oh,
Sam will always back me up.”

“There’s
gotta be someone I can ask.” He dropped his chin and gave her a
serious look. “Someone impartial. Someone who either isn’t in
love with you, thinks you’re the prettiest girl they’ve ever
seen, or goes to bed dreaming of getting a kiss like the one we had
last night.”

Her
cheeks flushed instantly, and she dropped her gaze. “Hey, Deacon,
about that. I’m sorry--”

“No,
I didn’t mean anything, Mac,” he started, feeling like an asshole
for shooting off his mouth.

“I
don’t know. Maybe we should talk about it?”

“No.
It was a mistake. Right?” He tried to catch her eye, but she wasn’t
having it. “You were drinking, I was...there.”

She
turned to face the lake, her jaw tight. “Right.”

Shit.
The last thing he wanted was for her to feel uncomfortable. He didn’t
like it. And he didn’t like that she’d agreed with him about the
make out session meaning nothing.

“Hey,”
she said. “You gonna eat the other half of that brownie?”

“You
avoiding talking about our kiss, Mackenzie?”

“Maybe.”

He
pushed a hand through his hair. Maybe he should avoid it, too. But
his mouth opened anyway and he started babbling on. “Truth? It was
amazing, Mac. Shit. It was hottest motherfucking kiss I’ve ever
had. It deserves to be talked about. Might even deserve to be
commemorated on a plate or something.”

She
groaned. “The brownie, Deacon,” she said again, her eyes still
trained on the dessert. “You gonna eat it or what?”

“Depends.”

“On
what?”

“If
you’ll let me feed it to you.”

Her
head came up, and her eyes narrowed. “You have issues.”

“That
a yes?” He picked up the brownie, smiled at her. “How bad do you
want it, Mackenzie?”

She
shook her head at him. “Not bad enough to humiliate myself.”

“Come
on now. Don’t get all bent out of shape.” He leaned toward her
and waved the brownie under her nose, then swiped a bit of the
frosting on her upper lip. “Every man knows that women can’t
resist chocolate.”

She
licked it off instantly. “Where did you hear that?”

“You.”
He shrugged. “And somewhere else, too. I’ll tell you if you open
up and take a bite.” Deacon broke off a piece of brownie and
waited. When she let him slide it between her lips, he felt his
entire body tense.

“Lucky
brownie,” he whispered.

Her
eyes cut to his. They were worried and confused, and glazed with
attraction like they’d been last night.

Deacon
knew he should stop this, end this. It was so damn dangerous, playing
around with her feelings, and shit, his own. But they were so close,
and her eyes were on his, and her sweet, salty scent was pushing into
his nostrils.

He
bent down and whispered, “I know I’ve never tasted anything
better than your mouth. No hotter, sweeter place in the world.”

Author of the Bestselling Mark of the Vampire series, Laura
Wright spent the early years of her life immersed in the worlds of
singing, acting and competitive ballroom dancing. But when she started
writing, she knew she’d found her true calling. Laura lives in Los
Angeles, California with her husband, two children, three dogs, two frogs
and two fish. She’s been thrice nominated for a Romantic Times Reviewer’s
Choice Award, and loves hearing from her readers.